Lading impact absorber



Jan W, 11950) e. w. RYDNER ETAL LADING IMPACT ABSORBER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 6, 1947 Elmeutors 6. W. RYDNER ET AL LADING IMPACT ABSORBER Jan, KG, 195@ 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 6, 1947 6% w L 0 w x W,

IIIIIRIII'A Patented Jan. 10, 1950 UN] T E D11 S T:

2394,0044 LADING IMPACT ABsoRBERi:

Gustaf W. Rydner and a Cijllih, matron,

Mich; assign'orsto' Geneital Mot'oi's1361-11".oration? Detroit, Mich., a cor'poratiomof Delaware Application February 6,

more'severe'bnmps and jolts. Various arrange-"1 ments for floating the load in the railroad car have been used and one of the'standard methods now foundto beless dependablehas involvedf placing the lading on the car floor in spaced relation tothe car walls and then encircling the same with steel strapping so that one or 'more' straps pass around all four sides of the cargo and-are fastened to one side wall near the cen-' trally located entrance door opening with other" strapping fastened to the opposite side wall whereby on impact the'load may slide on the car floor within a limited range allowed by any slack orstretching of the strapping 'andslipp'age of the straps about the load. Such strapping generally is discarded after one use and the in-' stallation-is rather expensive with respect to'both} material costsand the amount of labor're'quired.

It is here proposed to provide an improved snubbing structure'for a shiftable load and which 4'-4, each of the "latter havinga centrally'lo'c'ated openingfclo se'd iby door's' on the interior oi eacli""side* wal'lf' l and onf opposite "sides of the door'openin'g there arlocatdthe snubber def" structure is a permanent installation'inthe box 130 "so "as"to befiush"therewitfiandnot to project car-"for repeated use indefinitely with any kind of "cargo; including boxes, barrels, cartons, 'pal-' lets and containers; In principle the opposite ends of the-load are joined together in a preferred l embodiment with flexible'lengths of'rope along each'side which are slidably looped over fixeddrums for a friction braking action when the load-j'slides. Hence the faster the sliding the tighter the loop grabs the drum' so that the frictional resistance is somewhat proportional to the 40 moving force. Bypreferenee an adjustable spring assembly is incorporated for holding the rope under the right tension for controlling the amount of friction around the drum in accordance-with the weight of the load and theoperating conditions to be encounteredz i With the springsset-at-the selected tension the individually loaded items of cargo will be pulled tightly together into one-compactly fitting unit and will floatas one. ing as now contemplated is only a matter of a few inches and calls for a minimum of clearance distance between the cargo and the ends of the car. For light loads lesser float needs to be allowed than for heavy loads.

The "amount of shift so into" or otherwiseinterfere with theload'ing space? Each drmisstatioiIariIyE"mounted on a barl'lf' wh oseopposit e""ends' are welded or otherwise 'se=" cured' *toadjbiningf'vertical car posts and the drumte'rmir'iatesin' a peripheral flange to assist in "retaining thereon a"co'il'or loop of one or more turns for lfl'irible cableor rope 8. 7

One end ofea'eh ropedsfastened to an ad joi n-'" ingendlofja sideiarm'of a "U-shaped stelstrapi" "9 Which'fits 'aro'undin nested relation witl'i'an end" and (in-opposite sides of "the cargo, there being one U-shaped strap at each end ".of "the" load. If desired the U-shaped members"9"may be eliminated"either'byPrunnii ig.thecables around 5 theerid's of "the "cargo" in place "of the strap or? by fastening theends of the respective cables 8 to the endmost cargditemi Eorillustrative pur poses""tl'ie cargo items are"- indicatedby broken lines asase'h a of box-dikecontainers, 'each'fofff substantially tli widtlioi thepaf andbf half the-height arl 'arifjaiigd in"two"tiiSjthoseiri the lower tier resting on longitudinally disposed angle shaped tracksilll resting on the car floor I and those of the upper tier resting on angle Inasmuch as the straps H supported 'on the side walls midway of I sion.

the height. Additional tracks may be provided in spaced sets where the height of the containers permits multiple tiering of the load and, of course, all but the floor tracks may be eliminated, if the height of the load occupies the major vertical space in the transport carrier.

The spring assembly heretofore mentioned for the purpose-of taking up slackyinthe snubber cables joins together the adjacent ends and is arranged to be located conveniently for accessibility through the centrally disposed door opening at each side. As best seen in the detail views the assembly includes a pair of coil springs l2-l2 weight of the particular cargo load.

seating at opposite ends onplates l3 and, M to I urge the plates apart. Bottoming tubes I5-l5 carried by each plate in spaced apart relation are nested within each coil spring and provide abutments to limit the extent of springcompresproiect slidably through the coil springs and the plate-l4 and are fastened by suitable nuts to an attachment member I! carrying a hook H! for attachment to one of the snubbing cables 8. Gentrally of the pair of springs there is located a hollow tube 2|! having an abutment washer 2| welded at one end for pulling contact with the spring seating plate l4. Its opposite end projects slidably through the other spring seating plate l3 and has welded thereto a threaded nut 22 in which is adjustably fitted a threaded stud 23 carrying a hook 24 for engagement by selected links of a chain 25 carried on the end of the other cable 8 of the cooperating set. The selective fitting of the various chain links detachably to the hook 24 accommodatesvariations in the over: all length of the cargo in setting up the tautness in the snubbing cable. Further adjustment is provided by threading the stud 23 into or out of the tube 20. Thus the correct amount of spring tension may be set up after the loading is completed in accordance with the desired amount of friction between the cable loops and the snubber drums. Shifting of the load in either direction will tend to pull both of the intermediate lengths of cable about their respective drums, the movement being permitted by the slippage of the cables with the friction drag serving to check the relative movement. Small relative movement under light force can take place with a smaller degree of frictional resistance whereas sudden heavy forces cause an even tighter wrapping of the Long bolts l6 seat on the plate l3 and 2. In a transport carrier, load snubbing means for permanent installation in the carrier including means to support a cargo shiftably relative thereto, a snubbing drum permanently pocketed within the wall lining of the carrier and provided with a circumferential cable retaining groove and a" check line fixed at opposite ends to the cargo and looped intermediate said ends about said cables and, consequently, quicker checking of the tendency of the load to be displaced. It may be feasible for certain types of load to eliminate the adjustment feature and to employ an endless cable loop of predetermined size for completely encompassing the four sides of the load and entrainment over one or more snubbing devices. However, the structure as illustrated has been devised for universal use employing a minimum of dunnage parts for permanent railroad car installation.

We claim:

1. In the shipment of freight, a transport carrier having means to shiftably support a cargo load, friction snubber drums permanently mounted and non-rotatably fixed at each side of the transport carrier, cargo load embracing means comprising portions engaging opposite ends of the load and'portions extending in tension between opposite ends of the cargo load on both snubbing drum and within said circumferential groove.

3. For repetitive use and permanent installation in a transport carrier for shiftably supporting cargo, a pair of U-shaped devices to telescopically embrace opposite ends of the cargo with the side arms of one projected toward the side arms of the other, flexible cables joining said arms on each side, and snubber drums mounted on the carrier and entrained by encircling loops in said cables for frictional sliding engagement thereby.

4. The structure of claim 3 wherein a slack take up device automatically maintains cable tension.

5. In combination, a transport carrier having snubber drums fixed to both side walls thereof, tension banding means to encircle the cargo loaded shiftably within the carrier, said means including intermediate side lengths of flexible cable looped about said snubber drums on both side walls and slack take up devices to maintain tautness in the banding means.

6. In combination, a transport carrier to support a shiftable cargo having in both side walls a pair of longitudinally spaced snubber drums,

cargo banding means including flexible lengths of cables, one on each side of the cargo and each looped around both drums on the corresponding side of the cargo and connections at opposite ends of each cable to hold said cable ends fixed in relation to the opposite ends of the cargo, said cables between each pair of drums extending toward one another and being joined together by a tensioning spring to insure close fit of REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Scales Aug. 1, 1933 Number 

